Molly meets her Aunt Carrie...

Carrie came into town briefly for work today and Grace, Molly and I got to go to Garozzo's for dinner. Grace was excited it was "just the girls", even though Papa Rich was coming too. She said he didn't count - apparently he is cool enough to hang out with "just the girls". Brandon and Ben had baseball...but I still brought them home some spiedini. This was the first time that Carrie got to meet Molly. Even though our time was limited, Carrie quickly learned that Molly enjoys having her nose rubbed (which was a surprise to me!), and that Grace is sassy and independent (which we all knew already!).

Last Day of School

Today marked the last day of KG for Grace, 2nd grade for Ben, and 5 years of employment at Schwegler Elementary for Julie. It was a bittersweet day - realizing that your children are growing up at an unbelievable rate and becoming more and more like who they will be in the future; and saying goodbye to dear colleagues and friends.Julia and Julie outside of Schwegler, waving Aloha as the students leave for summer vacation.

Brandon's Birthday Continues...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDON!

Today Brandon celebrated his 32nd birthday! He woke up early and went golfing with several guys from church. Then, we had lunch with his family. In the afternoon and evening, we had a BBQ with our small group from church. It was a blast! (except for the part where Barry, Brandon, and Isaiah had to carry down the giant T.V. that Mom and Dad gave us...it weighed over 300 pounds, but it was worth it when we got to play the Wii on it!) After we ate, the groupies rocked out on Guitar Hero. Scott and Cady definitely stole the show with their guitar/singing duet.

Ben and Grace and Molly could hardly wait to give Daddy his gift, so when he finally did open his new drum set for the Wii, our day was complete! Thanks to all of our friends and family for helping Brandon celebrate his special day.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Brandon's birthday is on Monday, so last night we went to La Tropicana to celebrate with friends.

Busiest Weekend EVER!!!!

This weekend had to be the busiest weekend ever for the Urban family!!! In fact, I'm not even sure how to post all of these pictures, so I'll do my best to get the idea across! This weekend, Ben and Grace had their last soccer games, our friends Jeremy and Keri had a party at our house to celebrate his graduation from KU, our friends Megan and Barry renewed their wedding vows and we all had a part in the ceremony, and Ben had his 8th birthday party!!!

Megan and Barry celebrated 10 years of marriage by renewing their wedding vows on Saturday. It had been a surprise for Megan and she was told about it just hours before the ceremony. Her husband Barry even had her wedding dress altered to fit her! Megan typically doesn't like to be the center of attention, so she was very nervous during those hours before the ceremony. Thankfully, Barry had scheduled a hair appointment for her and manicures for both of us! We had a great afternoon. We got back to Megan and Barry's house and she put on her dress, which fit beautifully! Grace took her job as flower girl very seriously and she scattered rose petals all over Megan's house. Ben held the rings and presented them at just the right time. I acted as the matron of honor and Brandon acted as the best man. It was so much fun.

On Sunday, several of us worked to set up "the greatest show on earth" for Ben's 8th birthday party. In just a few hours, our yard was transformed into the perfect place for a carnival. We had games, a moon walk, a fortune teller, a cookie walk, prizes, face painting, and more! It was definitely a day we won't forget.

Mother's Day

I had a fabulous Mother's Day last weekend! Ben and Grace woke me up to let me know that they had made me breakfast in bed...but I needed to go out on the front porch to get it! So, I followed them outside and on our front porch was a new bistro set with a bowl of Rice Krispies and an orange juice. We had breakfast out there and may have started a new tradition.

Later that day, we had lunch with Brandon's family. We had eaten dinner with my family the night before. After lunch, we went to see the new Star Trek movie. It was such an awesome day! I am so thankful for my wonderful family.

For my K-State friends

As all of you know, our family does NOT wear purple! Now, because my friend Keri gave us this as a shower gift, Molly had to wear it. I know Keri got Molly a purple one because she went to K-State and she thinks that somehow we will look like we, too, are Wildcat fans. But NO, Molly will continue to wear this outfit because she is cute in it...not because she is a K-State fan.

Our Own Personal Sound Effects Machine

Make sure you turn up the volume on this one!

Don't cry over spilled wine...

So last night...Brandon and I settled down for the evening and decided to enjoy a glass of wine and a movie. The ending credits rolled around 10:30, and that was when the night REALLY began, and NO, it's not what you think!

We thought it was odd that Molly was sleeping during her typical awake time, but figured she was pretty tired after such a long weekend and heck, we got to watch a movie uninterrupted! But, as soon as the movie was over, Molly's tummy woke her up right on cue. Brandon stayed up with her and watched SportsCenter and then came to bed around midnight after she fell asleep. Molly woke up at 1:30, wide awake and hungry. I fed her and tried to get her to realize she was tired, but to no avail.

At 3:15, I'd had enough. I went into the living room and reached for the lamp, only to knock over an entire glass of red wine. It went everywhere...all over the carpet, the couch, the table, Brandon's laptop...there was no hope at all of stopping it mid-air. I raced to our room, handed Molly to Brandon, and began the clean-up. Brandon entertained a wide-awake and once-again-hungry Molly while I Oxy-Cleaned the carpet. At 4:00 I headed to bed and Brandon tried to lull Molly to sleep on the wine-stained couch. He got her to sleep at 5:00 and came to bed, only for her to wake up at 5:30. This time, I got up with her. My hand was burning...apparently you shouldn't leave Oxy-Clean on your skin for more than a few hours without washing it entirely off! Molly and I went out to the kitchen to look at the twinkle lights...which usually soothes her. This is when I saw it... a furry, four-legged creature scurrying across my kitchen floor. Molly and I jumped up on the counter, just as the mouse disappeared under the oven. Molly then pooped on cue and I was off to her room to change her and feed her yet again.

After that, Molly ate again, and fell back asleep at 6:00. When the alarm went off at 7:00, Brandon and I just began to laugh.

All in a day's work

Brandon and his mom worked all day. After nearly 9 hours, all of the tile was laid in our basement! Now it must set for 24 hours before the next steps. Brandon's dad helped cut the tiles. Uncle Aaron watched Molly while the kids had their soccer games.

I kept the kids busy and took them to their soccer games. They both had some good games. Ben scored an awesome goal from mid-field, even after hurting his knee in the first quarter. After some ice and heat and extra love, he was back playing the Wii (Mario Olympics) this afternoon.

Our basement has been transformed. At one point, when several rows were already put in against the fireplace, Mamma's phone started ringing....from the fireplace mantle...across the tile.... Grace tip-toed across the tile to get the phone. After more tile was laid, Brandon realized that he left his hammer on the fireplace mantle. Needless to say, it is still there. Since the kids' rooms are downstairs, we packed their bags this morning so they would have clothes for today and tomorrow. We did Molly's laundry this morning, and realized that we left it in the dryer....which is also not accessible right now! All of her burp cloths were in there as well. Oh well, all in a day's work!

Nana retires...

After many years at Valley View, Mom is retiring from her position as director of their Mother's Day Out program. Thursday, she was the guest of honor at a surprise party. Here are a few pictures of that evening. Ben, Grace, and Molly were on their best behavior and they enjoyed the cupcakes thoroughly!

Nana and the kids!

Papa and Molly!

Ben was so tired

that he fell asleep on Molly!